A research project from The National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information of the University

of Arkansas School of Law • NatAgLaw@uark.edu • (479) 575-7646 • www.NationalAgLawCenter.org

An Agricultural Law Research Note

The Conservation Security Program and the Grassland
Reserve Program Under the 2002 Farm Bill

by

Harrison M. Pittman

The National Agricultural Law Center
University of Arkansas School of Law
1 University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701

March 2003
A National AgLaw Center Research Note

The Conservation Security Program and the Grassland
Reserve Program Under the 2002 Farm Bill
Harrison M. Pittman
Staff Attorney
The National AgLaw Center

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, commonly referred to as the 2002 Farm Bill,
created two new conservation programs, the Conservation Security Program (“CSP”) and the Grassland
Reserve Program (“GRP”). The GRP and the CSP represent significant additions to the conservation
programs available to farmers and ranchers. Because the regulations implementing the GRP and the
CSP have not been issued, this summary covers only the statutory provisions for each program.

The Grassland Reserve Program

The GRP is a voluntary conservation program designed to assist owners in restoring grassland,
rangeland, and pastureland, and in conserving virgin grassland through the use of long-term contracts
or easements.1 There are three types of land eligible for enrollment in the GRP:

1) grassland, land that contains forbs, or shrubland, as determined by the Secretary;2

2) land located in an area with a history of being dominated by grassland, forbs, or shrubland that
has potential to serve as animal or plant habitat, if the current use of the land is retained or if it is restored
to a natural condition;3 and

3) land that is incidental to these two types of land if the Secretary determines that it is necessary
to enroll the incidental land for the efficient administration of an agreement or easement.4

The maximum amount of acreage that can be enrolled in the GRP is 2,000,000 acres.5

Landowners can enroll land in the GRP under ten-, fifteen-, twenty-, or thirty-year rental
agreements.6 Landowners also have the option of enrolling land under either thirty-year or permanent

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easements, or for the maximum duration allowed under state law. 7 Land enrolled in the GRP must be
at least forty contiguous acres, unless the Secretary determines that tracts less than forty contiguous
acres should be enrolled to achieve the purposes of the program. 8

To enroll land through the grant of an easement, the landowner must grant the Secretary an
easement in the land, record a deed of restriction pursuant to state law that reflects the easement, provide
a written statement of consent to the easement that is signed by anyone holding a security interest or
vested interest in the land, provide proof of unencumbered title to the underlying fee interest in the land,
and comply with the terms of the easement and restoration agreement.9

To enroll land under a rental agreement, the owner or operator of the land must agree to comply
with the terms of the rental agreement and agree to suspend “any existing cropland base and allotment
history for the land under a program administered by the Secretary.”10

An easement or rental agreement must allow common grazing practices that are consistent with
maintaining grassland, forb, and shrub species common to the locality.11 The agreement must also allow
haying, mowing, or harvesting for seed production, subject to restrictions applicable to the nesting season
for certain birds in the area. 12 Finally, the agreement must permit fire rehabilitation and the building of
fire breaks and fences.13 The terms of an easement or rental agreement must prohibit the production of
any crop that requires the soil surface to be broken and the carrying out of any other activity that would
disturb the surface of the land, unless otherwise allowed by statute or the Secretary.14 If the terms of an
easement, rental, or restoration agreement are violated, the agreement will remain in effect, and the
Secretary can require the owner to refund all or part of the funds received by the owner, with interest.15

Annual payments for land enrolled under a rental agreement cannot be more than seventy-five
percent of the grazing value of land covered by the contract.16 Cost-share payments for eligible land that

14. See id. (to be codified at 16 U.S.C.A. § 3838o(b)(2)). The terms of a restoration agreement to
be used for land under an easement or rental agreement that must be restored will be prescribed by the
Secretary. See Pub. L. No. 107-171, § 2401, 116 Stat. 134, 260 (to be codified at 16 U.S.C.A. § 3838o(d)).

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has never been cultivated cannot exceed ninety percent of the restoration costs.17 Cost-share payments
for restored grassland must not exceed seventy-five percent of those costs.18

Land enrolled under permanent easements is purchased at fair market value minus the grazing
value of the land encumbered by the easement.19 Land enrolled under a thirty-year easement or for the
maximum duration allowed under state law is purchased at thirty percent of the fair market value of the
land minus the grazing value of the land while the land is encumbered by the easement.20

The Conservation Security Program

The CSP is a voluntary program designed to provide financial and technical assistance to aid
producers in promoting conservation goals, such as the conservation and improvement of soil, water,
air, energy, plant and animal life.21 The CSP becomes effective beginning with the 2003 fiscal year,
continues through the 2007 fiscal year, and will be managed by the NRCS.22 The CSP establishes three
levels, or tiers, of conservation contracts under which a producer may participate.23

Land eligible for the CSP includes cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pasture land,
rangeland, certain tribal lands, and forested land that is an incidental part of an agricultural operation.24
Land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, or the GRP cannot be
enrolled in the CSP.25 In addition, land used for crop production “that had not been planted, considered
to be planted, or devoted to crop production for at least [four] of the [six] years” preceding the enactment
of the CSP, or land “that has been maintained using long-term crop rotation practices, as determined by
the Secretary,” cannot be enrolled in the CSP.26

17. See id. (to be codified at 16 U.S.C.A. § 3838p(c)).

18. See id.

19. See id. (to be codified at 16 U.S.C.A. § 3838p(b)(1)(A)(i)).

20. See id. (to be codified at 16 U.S.C.A. § 3838p(b)(1)(A)(ii)).

21. Pub. L. No. 107-171, tit. II, § 2001, 116 Stat. 134, 223 (to be codified at 16 U.S.C.A. §§ 3838­
3838c). The final rules implementing the CSP have not been written. See id. § 2001, 116 Stat. 134, 224 (to
be codified at 16 U.S.C.A. § 3838(9) (defining a “producer” as “an owner, operator, landlord, tenant, or
sharecropper that . . . shares in the risk of producing any crop or livestock . . . and is entitled to share in the
crop or livestock available for marketing from a farm . . . .”)).

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To participate in the CSP, a producer must submit a conservation security plan to be approved
by the Secretary.27 The conservation security plan must identify the land and resources to be conserved,
the tier in which the producer chose to participate, the particular conservation practices the producer will
implement, and a schedule for implementation of these practices.28 Accepted conservation practices
include nutrient management, invasive species management, contour farming, controlled rotational
grazing, partial field conservation practices, and native grassland and prairie protection and restoration.29

Once the conservation security plan has been approved, the producer must enter into a
conservation security contract with the Secretary to implement the conservation security plan.30 The
conservation security contract must include a provision providing that the producer will not be considered
to be in violation of a conservation security contract for failure to comply due to circumstances beyond
the producer’s control.31 In the contract, the producer must agree to implement the terms of the
conservation security plan, maintain and make available records showing that the plan is being
implemented, and not to engage in any activities contrary to the purposes of the CSP. 32 The producer
must also agree that it will refund the appropriate payments or accept adjustments to payments if the
Secretary determines that the contract has been violated.33

There are three tiers of conservation contracts that producers may enter into to participate in the
CSP.34 Tier I is the base level of CSP participation, Tier II the second level of participation, and Tier III
the highest level of participation. Under each of these contract options, payments are composed of two
parts, (1) base payment and (2) average county cost for adopting or maintaining the practice for the 2001
crop year. The base payment is either the average national per-acre rental rate for a specific land use
during the 2001 crop year or an appropriately adjusted rate for the 2001 crop year to ensure regional
equity.35 The average county cost rate will be determined by the Secretary. The maximum annual
payment under Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III is $20,000.00, $35,000.00, and $45,000.00, respectively.36

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Tier I contracts require the producer to enter into a five-year plan that addresses at least one
significant resource of concern for the portion of the agricultural operation enrolled in the CSP.37 Under
Tier I, the producer is paid five percent of the base payment and seventy-five percent for the cost of the
practice chosen.38 A beginning farmer is paid
ninety percent of the practice cost.39

Tier II contracts require the producer to enter into a five- to ten-year plan that addresses one
resource of concern for the entire agricultural operation.40 The producer is paid ten percent of the base
payments and seventy-five percent of the average cost for the practices the producer has chosen.41
Beginning farmers are paid ninety percent of the practice cost.42

Tier III contracts require the producer to enter into a five- to ten-year plan that applies a resource
management system meeting the appropriate nondegradation standard for all resources of concern for
the entire agricultural operation.43 The producer is paid fifteen percent of the base payment and seventy-
five percent of the average practice costs.44 As with Tier I and II, beginning farmers receive ninety
percent of average practice costs.45

A producer may receive enhanced payments under Tier I, II, or III if it

1) implements or maintains multiple conservation practices exceeding minimum requirements for
the tier in which the producer is participating;

2) addresses local conservation priorities in addition to the resources of concern for the
agricultural operation;

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5) carries out assessment and evaluation activities that relate to the practices included in the
producer’s conservation plan.46

A producer may request that the Secretary modify its conservation security contract if the
proposed modification is consistent with purposes of the CSP.47 The Secretary may require a producer
to modify a security contract if the Secretary determines that “a change made to the type, size,
management, or other aspect of the agricultural operation of the producer” would significantly interfere
with the purposes of the CSP if the contract were not modified.48 A producer may terminate a
conservation security contract without having to refund the payments it has received if the producer is in
compliance with the terms of the contract at the time the contract is terminated and the Secretary
determines that the termination would not defeat the purposes of the producer’s conservation security
plan.49

A producer has the option of renewing a conservation security contract for at least five years but
not more than ten years.50 However, a producer may only renew a contract under Tier I if it agrees “to
apply additional conservation practices that meet the nondegradation standard on land already enrolled”
in the CSP or “to adopt new conservation practices with respect to another portion of the agricultural
operation that address resource concerns and meet the nondegradation standard under the terms of the
Tier I conservation security contract.”51

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This material is based on work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Agreement No.
59-8201-9-115. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are
those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The National AgLaw Center is a federally funded research institution
located at the University of Arkansas School of Law